Robert1958 – Page 21 – Personal Finance

February 10, 2022

RETIREMENT SAVINGS SCHEMES

Kiwisaver Retirement Savings Scheme

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” Proverbs 13:22

Saving for one’s retirement is the responsible thing to do and it is up to each individual to get their own finances sorted for their latter years. New Zealand has their own retirement scheme as most other countries do to help make life easier for their citizens when they retire.

The New Zealand retirement scheme is called “kiwisaver.” It is open to New Zealand residents. Kiwisaver is voluntary and anyone aged up to 65 can join. You do not have to be in work to join kiwisaver, you are able to make voluntary contributions at any time.

You are about to make contributions through your wages and salaries of between 2%, 4%, or 8% (you choose). Your employer will also make contributions to your kiwisaver account. If you are not employed then you can choose to make voluntary contributions.

The key component of kiwisaver is the government’s contribution which is a maximum of $10 per week or $520 per year but you have to contribute at least $1040 per annum to get the full $520 otherwise you the government will put in 50% of whatever is your contribution.

You will receive the government money sometime in July. The kiwisaver year starts 1st July and ends 30th June and any money deposited into your kiwisaver account during this period will be eligible for the government contribution the following July. You could say leave it until June before you put any money in kiwisaver and still be eligible for the tax credits as the government money is sometimes called.

When joining KiwiSaver you will be given the choice of fund managers. If you do not choose one, the I.R.D (Inland Revenue Department) will choose one for you and when this happens, it tends to lean on the more conservative side.

You have the option of different funds, Growth, Balanced, or Conservative with growth funds being aggressive. They have the potential to grow your savings but the downside is that they are the most risky. Conservative funds are low risk but can inhibit the growth of your savings while balanced funds are a combination of growth and conservative funds.

Your savings in kiwisaver are locked in until you reach the retirement age of 65 (applicable in NZ) but you may be able to access your funds under exceptional circumstances. These are if you are suffering from financial hardship, have a terminal illness, or die (money goes to your estate). It is important that you have a will because if you don’t, any money still in your kiwisaver will likely be swallowed by lawyer’s fees.

You may use some of your kiwisaver funds for a deposit on your first home but only after you have been in kiwisaver for at least five years. If you are at that stage where you will be looking at purchasing your first home in the not too distant future then it would be a good idea to go for a combination of balanced and conservative funds when choosing which type of kiwisaver fund to invest in because if you went for growth funds, the markets may have gone down when it comes time to withdraw some of your kiwisaver funds for a home deposit. That would be a double whammy because when the market recovers and is on the up, you have missed out on the gains because you withdraw your money when the market was down.

It is a good idea though to have other investments which can take advantage of the swings and roundabouts of the markets even if you only have a small amount to invest.

Always try to keep up to date with what is going on in the financial world as this will increase your financial literacy and help you make better decisions on your finances.

Check out my site www.robertastewart.com for useful information on how to increase your wealth.

The information in this article is the writer’s opinion and experience. It is advisable to seek independent financial advice to ascertain the best financial plan for your situation.

January 31, 2022January 31, 2022

Taking Responsibility for your Finances

Taking Responsibility for your Finances

Life is full of choices and what you do with your choices determines the outcome or what happens in the long term. Taking no action is a choice in itself. As far as finances go, what you do with your resources can make a difference to your life.

In New Zealand and in most countries some form of retirement scheme is in operation.That is where a small percentage of your pay goes directly into your retirement scheme. There are various incentives available to encourage people to contribute toward their retirement savings.

New Zealand’s retirement scheme is called “Kiwisaver” and it is voluntary which means that no one is compelled to join or to contribute to their retirement fund if they do not wish to.

Considering the advantages of belonging to Kiwisaver it is truly baffling why anyone would not want to join.

I have heard all kinds of excuses such as, “I’m not earning enough,” “You can’t take it all with you”, “Other people are not in Kiwisaver.”

These are all excuses and not reasons.

The truth is and the real reason why some people are not involved in KIwisaver or are contributing toward it is because they are irresponsible.

Of course you will not hear any of them admit that.

The bottom line is that it is not up to the Prime MInister to spoon feed people. At some point one has to take responsibility for your own finances.

Irresponsible behavior is a habit and a pattern of behavior. Responsibility is a dirty word to some people and a person who is not responsible enough to join a retirement plan of some kind is likely to be irresponsible in other areas of their life. The number of one parent families is a prime example of this. “Where are the fathers of these kids” is a question I sometimes ask myself when I see a story on TV about single mothers.

Responsibility also means that you must make the decisions on which funds to invest in; those who may be intellectually limited and those who do not have the time to do their research can make the use of a fund manager by investing in managed funds. All money invested into kiwisaver are in managed funds.

Fund managers are skilled and have the kind of financial knowledge that the ordinary man in the street does not but you still have to choose which fund to invest in whether it is growth, balanced, or conservative.

Markets will go up and down which are beyond the control of the fund manager, therefore, do not take your anxieties out of them when the markets are down.

It is certainly a fact of life that some people will let others make their decisions for them so that they have someone to blame when things turn to custard.

You may have a financial advisor but they still need to know what your intentions are as far as your goals in order to make the right choices for you. An investment made for someone who has thirty years left till retirement is not going to be the same as one for someone who has five years to go. It is your responsibility to keep your advisor informed.

That is, if you have an advisor. If you do not then it is up to you to do your own homework. That way, if things turn to custard then the person who is to blame is the one you see in the mirror every morning.

Watch this video

This is not for everyone; we prepared a presentation for you outlining the income opportunity, please watch through it in its entirety. Here is the training link, http://bit.ly/3uQXf7I

www.robertastewart.com

January 25, 2022

SELLING ARTICLES ON LISTVERSE

Selling articles on listverse

I came across a site called listverse while watching a youtube tutorial on how to make money from writing articles. The site in question was listverse. It is a site where you submit a list of whatever it is you are writing about. For example “Ten weight loss hacks.”

You do not need to be a writer according to the tutorial. All you need to do is to go on to a site such as Articlesbase or Articlesfactory and copy an article from one of these sites.

Then you go to a site such as spinbot or quillbot and get the article rewritten into your own words.

Next step is to go over the article to make sure it makes sense.

Then you submit the rewritten article to listverse.

I decided to use one of my own articles to submit to listverse only to find out that the minimum number of words per article was 1800. My articles are between 400-1000 words. The articles on Articlesbase, Articlesfactory, Ezinearticles, and the like are all under 1000 words therefore will not be accepted on listverse. One would need to add to the article until it reached the minimum 1800 words.

I kept working on my article until it grew to over 1800 words then I submitted it to listverse.

It was rejected because it was not what they were looking for.

Listverse does not accept articles on self-help, opinion, product rankings or reviews, money making guides, personal experiences, health advice, gaming or sports, and social justice.

They also inform me that they receive over 100 articles submissions each day and of those, only 3 are accepted for publication.

These are not very good odds when you are competing against some very skilled writers.

None of this was even mentioned in the Youtube tutorial.

My advice is to look elsewhere if you are looking for a site which pays for articles or do a google search and type in “Listverse alternatives” and see what crops up.

Incidentally, the article which I sent in was titled “Ten weight-loss hacks,” which was my own article. I posted this article on several free article sites such as ezinearticles, livejournal, articlebiz, justpaste.it, and others.

You can read the article on www.loseweightnz.blogspot.com

www.robertastewart.com

January 16, 2022

How to prioritize your spending

INTRODUCTION

It is important to prioritize your spending in order to get the best outcome for your finances. This will often mean delaying those items that you want in preference for something which is really needed. For example, car repair expenses should have priority over that new smartphone you saw advertised on TV. There is a system you can use to decide on how to prioritize your discretionary spending and this is explained.

How to prioritize your spending

We all spend money. That is the purpose of getting a job or being in business. All of the expenses involved in living need to be paid for somehow. Once the necessities are taken care of, what is left over is called discretionary spending money. It is up to us to make a choice with whatever discretionary spending money we have. We can save it or we can spend it, it is up to our individual choices.

Some folk fritter away their spending money because they have no plan to make the most of what they have.

Two people can have the same level of income and the same outgoings but one has a financial plan and the other does not. I can tell you that the difference in financial positions between the two in the long term will be massive.

The truth is that both have a plan, one a plan for a favourable financial outcome and the other a plan for financial failure; the core difference between the person with a financial plan and the one who does not is priorities. They each have different priorities on how to use their money.

How do you establish priorities?

Here is a simple system.

Make a list of your top five goals on what you are saving for.

This could be to save for a smartphone, savings, new car, holiday, pay off debt, buy a new tv, or whatever.

Once you have written out your five items for your list, place a number besides them, one to five in no particular order of preference.

Now put them in groups of two.

One and two, one and three, one and four, one and five, two and three, two and four, two and five, three and four, three and five, and four and five.

You will have ten groups of two.

Next place a circle around your preferred option in each group of two.

Here is an example.

Sam lists his top five goals (not in order)

Paying off Debt
Buying a cellphone
Buying a motor vehicle
Saving
Going for an overseas holiday

The first group is Paying off debt V Buying a cellphone which if I was Sam I would circle paying off debt.

The next group is Paying off debt V Buying a motor vehicle. Once again I would circle the paying off debt option if I was Sam.

The third group is paying off debt V Saving and once again I would circle paying off debt because by paying off debt you do not have to pay interest on the money which has been borrowed.

Go through all of the other combinations and the option which has been circled the most is your priority.

This all clarifies your thinking.

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

Feel free to share this article or even use it as content for your ebook or website. Other articles can be found on www.robertastewart.com

December 28, 2021December 28, 2021

History of share market crashes

INTRODUCTION

It is not a secret that the stock market can be volatile; history has shown us this. There are many factors which are the cause of a falling market; they could be a change of President in the US, correction in the market, or nervousness by investors resulting in them selling off their stocks. Whether a 1929 or 87 style crash occurs this decade or not, one thing is clear; it is still important to save and invest for the future because one thing is certain; you will cease working one day and need something to fall back on.

History of share market crashes

When one thinks of share market crashes two years spring to mind, 1929 and 1987, hopefully, such crashes on the scale which wiped out life savings are not going to occur in the foreseeable future. It is not guaranteed that it will not happen, but then nothing in this world is guaranteed apart from death and taxes.

There have been other financial meltdowns outside of the two main ones. Asian Financial Crisis of the 90s and the GFC of 2008 wiped billions of dollars off share values.

The next major financial meltdown in the markets could be caused by the very people who will be most affected by it, Baby Boomers.

Why?

Because as more and more of them retire, they will withdraw their savings out of the stock market causing a major selloff.

This has been predicted in the past but there has not yet been any sign of this happening with the markets at record levels, however, who is bold enough to predict which direction the stock exchange will head in the future?

One thing you can guarantee is that there will be another market crash in the future; investors just need to be prepared for it.

Here are the most notable share market crashes within the last 100 years.

1929-The Wall Street Crash

The Wall Street crash lasted for over four years. Investors borrowed money to buy shares and when shares were sold off to repay the money to their creditors investors were left out of pocket. The 1929 crash led to the 1930s Great depression.

1962-The Kennedy Slide

The stock market had enjoyed a steady rise since the 1929 crash with the ten years prior to 1962 being good ones for the stock exchange. This all changed in January when share prices plummeted. President Kennedy attributed the decline as a correction for the rises of the past ten years.

1973-74-Stock market crash

The Dow Jones fell by 45% during the stock market crash which lasted two years between January 1973 and December 1974. The UK markets feared even worse losing 73% of it’s value during this time. The collapse of the Bretton Woods System was to blame. This is a system devised many decades earlier on an agreed fixed currency rate. 44 countries met in Bretton Wood to discuss the currency issue in 1944 hence the name Bretton Woods System.

1987-Black Monday

19th October 1987 will always be known as “Black Monday,” after the biggest one day fall in the stock market in history took place. Leading up to the crash many traders borrowed money to purchase shares and as share prices rose they borrowed more money using the value of their shares as security, however, when the stock market dropped by 20% in one day many investors owed more money than the value of their shares and found themselves in financial turmoil.

1997-Asian Financial Crisis

Many stock markets in Asia fell dramatically between July and October due to an overheated market. Many who bought shares on credit or with borrowed money were hit hard by the crash.

2007-2008-Global Financial Crisis

The failure of several financial institutions in the United States.

2020-The Covid Market Crash

Stock markets dropped 34% in one day on March 23 2020 as Covid-19 was starting to take hold. This started a worldwide recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Who knows when the next share market crash will occur; one thing is for certain, it will be out of the control of investors. It is up to each of us to plan our finances in such a way as to minimize the effect of a financial meltdown in the markets. This can be done by diversification; that is by having your money invested in a range of industries. This way you are not placing too many eggs in the one basket.

ABOUT THIS ARTICLE

This article does not represent financial advice, but rather is the opinion of the writer. It is strongly advised that you seek independent advice from a qualified person. Feel free to share this article. You may use this article as content for your ebook or website. Visit my site www.robertastewart.com for other articles.

December 20, 2021

Why Aweber?

Why Aweber?

Aweber

If you are searching for an auto responder then it has to be aweber. The aweber autoresponder system provides all you need for your business. Check it out for yourself.

Pricing – Aweber is competitive in terms of pricing. You may be able to find less expensive options, but that lower price comes at a sacrifice in terms of deliverability, options, and support. At the same time, Aweber is very affordable. You can start with a $1 trial and then continue at just $19 per month for up to 500 subscribers. With this plan you can send an unlimited number of emails per month

Templates – If you’re not a programmer (and most of us are not!) then it’s not easy to create great-looking opt-in forms or newsletters. Aweber has a very large selection of both that you can use as-is or easily customize to fit your business.

Customer Support –Aweber customer support is top notch, offering phone support, live online chat, email, webinars, a free e-course, tutorials, and more.

When you start to use the program there is even a set-up walk-through. If you’ve got problems or questions, there are a number of different ways to get help.

Emails – In Aweber you have a number of features and options when it comes to sending emails. Most email software programs allow you to send both autoresponders and broadcasts but not many have a blog broadcast feature. Blog broadcasts makes are a way to send your latest blog updates directly – and automatically – to your subscribers. Aweber is also up to date in terms of social media functions, allowing you to automatically and instantly post your emails to Twitter and/or Facebook.

High Deliverability – One of the most important factors you need to consider is whether or not your emails are getting to their targeted inboxes. If they’re not, all your efforts are for nothing. Aweber provides top-deliverability to its customers. They are constantly working hard to establish relationships with internet service providers so emails from Aweber will be delivered, not diverted to the Junk Folder. Aweber has one of the highest deliverability rates in the industry.

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December 15, 2021

Do you have discretionary income to invest?

Do you have discretionary income to invest?

Why not invest it in Bitcoin?

You may not get rich and you may lose it all but then again your money could double, treble, quadruple in value and even more in a short time.

That is the exciting part about bitcoin.

No one knows how high it may go…

If you had bought $100 worth of bitcoin 10 years ago you would now be a millionaire.

but…

bitcoin is volatile therefore, one should only purchase bitcoin with discretionary spending money.

What is discretionary spending money?

That is anything left over after paying your fixed costs such as rates, rent, taxes, power, holidays, etc.

In other words, purchase cryptocurrency with money you can afford to lose.

Ready to take the next step?

Ready to invest in bitcoin?

https://yazing.com/deals/blockfi/robertalan

December 10, 2021

Share market tips for the Mum and Dad investor

Share market tips for the Mum and Dad investor

Written by R. A. Stewart

I think it is fair to say that a lot of people dream of hitting it big on the share market and some do but for everyone who has found a pot of gold in the markets there are countless others who entered the markets blindly without doing their homework or having a strategy in place; this article is to give you some pointers if you have some money to spare and are looking for somewhere to invest your hard earned cash.

In the share market, as in real life, if you are able to reduce your number of bad decisions then you will be better off; not that there’s anything wrong with making mistakes.

You are sometimes better off by learning a lesson the hard way if that is what it takes for you to get the lesson.

Here then are my sharemarket pointers.

1 Investing directly into the share market is beyond most small investors because their abilty to diversify their portfolio is limited therefore the only option is to invest all of their funds in one company which leaves them open to disaster. If that particular industry which the company is involved in suffers a downturn, value of the share heads south. It is similar to a horse racing fan attending the track and betting all of their money on the one horse instead of dividing their bankroll between several horses.

Small investors are able to invest in the markets, however, and enjoy the same benefits of larger investors by investing in managed funds; this is where your savings are combined with other investors. You do not have the choice of which companies to invest your money in as that decision is left to the trust manager, however, you can choose which type of fund to invest in whether growth, balanced, or conservative.

2 Investing in the markets is a long-term game, therefore, if you require the money in the short term then you may be better off leaving your money in fixed term interest bearing accounts however, having said that, investing in the markets can increase your savings if you give it enough time. Young people have the advantage of time on their side; they are able to take more risks with their money because they have more time to recover from financial setbacks than their parents.

3 Don’t try to time the markets! It is time and not timing which is the key to making money in the share market. If you are waiting until the markets dip before investing you are missing out on plenty of opportunities to increase your capital and this is particularly true in a rising market.

4 Decide whether the money is required in the short term, medium term, or long term before deciding on where to invest your money.

Money needed in the short term or on standby is money which may be needed for car repairs, a holiday, household expenses etc

Medium term funds is money needed for a new car

Long term funds are savings for your retirement such as your superannuation funds.

Short term is not money which should be invested in bank deposits where you are able to have easy access to it.

Medium term money can be invested in managed funds where you are able to have easy access to it but still have the potential for it to grow.

Long term money is money invested in a retirement fund such as kiwisaver in New Zealand.

Conclusion

Think of money as “seed,” it will reap a nice harvest if you give it enough time, therefore you need to sow enough seed in order to increase your wealth; the sharemarket is an excellent investment and managed funds makes it easier for the ordinary person to get involved in the markets. My site www.robertastewart.com has articles to help you increase your wealth. CHECK IT OUT!

Sharesies

Sharesies makes it possible for anyone to get into buying and selling shares. It is an online share market platform where you have the option of purchasing shares in individual companies or in various funds (managed/mutual funds). You can even start with $5. This is a no brainer because it gives investors young and not so young the chance to improve their financial literacy. There is certainly no substitute for experience when it comes to learning and this is applicable to everything else, not just investing.

Join sharesies here: https://sharesies.nz/r/377DFM

Note: This article is of the opinion of the writer and does not represent financial advice.

December 7, 2021December 7, 2021

Which shares should I buy in 2022?

Which are the best stocks to take a punt on in 2022?

Here are my tips:

Written by R. A. Stewart

2022 is nearly here and those of you who like to have a dabble on the sharemarket through using those micro investment apps such as Robinhood in the US or Sharesies in New Zealand giving some thought to which shares are most likely to outperform the market.

It is hard for the ordinary man in the street to pick a stock that is likely to do well for the simple fact is that the same information you are using to base your predictions on is available to everyone else. Still there is no harm in trying. There is a certain amount of satisfaction in making your own selections as there is from selecting your own horses to back in the Melbourne Cup without relying on the newspaper tipsters.

Without further ado, here are my tips:

Fonterra

Despite being blamed for climate change, this is my number one company for 2022 because there is always a demand for dairy products, and with Christopher Luxon being appointed as National Party leader, it has become more likely that National could steal the next general election due in 2023. This current government, led by Jacinda Ardern, has anti-farming policies which is really just biting the hand which feeds us since farming brings in so much export earnings.

Spark

Spark is my second tip. This is more than just a phone company. They also have contracts to televise certain sporting events.

Genesis

Genesis is an energy company. We all use power so I see no reason why this will not remain a steady stock. Trustpower and Meridian Energy are other power companies worth investing in.

Fletcher Building

A great New Zealand company. New Zealand is in a building boom due to the need for more houses. Problem for Fletcher though is that the demand for timber is outstripping supply.

Ryman Healthcare

The retirement industry is big business and so those companies which provide services to the elderly should flourish in the next decade and Ryan is one of these.

Companies to avoid:

With so much uncertainty in the tourism industry, any company involved in tourism and hospitality is best avoided as are most retail companies as the internet is affecting sales, though one exception could be Wrightsons which is a farming retailer.

Media and TV stations also have challenging times ahead as viewers get their information online.

Sharesies

Join sharesies here: https://sharesies.nz/r/377DFM

Note: This article is of the opinion of the writer and does not represent financial advice.